The Gentle Salamander
by KageFuego4
Summary: Tsuboi Ryoutarou is your average man, with an average job, living an average life. He also happened to have a not so average (death game) experience, along with ten-thousand other people. Somehow, he managed to make it out alright, right? This is a view into the daily life of the leader of Fuurinkazan. Extremely light SPOILERS, if you haven't reached the Alicization arc... Maybe


Disclaimer:

Sword Art Online and all related characters events etc... are owned by Kawahara Reki and any affiliates I haven't bothered to look up.

Enjoy. No really, please do. Ryoutarou needs it.

* * *

"Gah, of all the luck!" a red haired, scarlet bandanna clad samurai cursed, finding himself in a cave surrounded by four blade wielding creatures that resembled turtles.

That is, turtles with the ability to stand upright on their hind legs, frown and hold weapons in the first place. The torchlight, illuminating the small cramped room showed that the only way out would happen to be the way he entered.

"Come now, guys" the man nervously chuckled, attempting to be as non-threatening as possible. "I don't want to be here, and you obviously don't want me here" he began, discreetly checking to make sure that his katana was still securely tied to his crimson robes and black armor.

It never hurt to double check your things, what with the wacky happenings of this game, lately.

The turtle creature growled in response, brandishing their weapons with vigor. The samurai took this as their way of telling him to 'get to the point'.

"So, why don't I just leave the way I came…." At this he looked up, at the pitfall he had fallen victim to, then back to the monsters "and we can pretend this never happened?" he shrugged.

While the four creatures stood there, seemingly pondering this suggestion, a small winged girl chose this moment to emerge from the bandana tied across his head with an exaggerated yawn.

This in turn, startled the previously occupied monsters, prompting them to roar in unison.

"No, Yui!" the samurai exclaimed "I had them convinced to just let us out without a problem" he moaned, preparing for the now imminent battle.

"But, Uncle Klein" the small girl began, nonchalantly examining the riled creatures. "These monsters were programmed to immediately attack any entity that falls into the trap" she replied.

"Ah" Klein replied, chuckling sheepishly.

How'd he wind up in this mess?

* * *

*Earlier that Morning*

"This is rare" Tsuboi Ryoutarou remarked to himself, having woken up with a terrible headache, having stopped dressing for work midway. Examining the calendar magnetically attached to his fridge, it appeared that he had managed to work enough overtime to get the rest of the week off. Compounded with the weekends which were usually days off anyway, this also explained why he smelled of sake.

Memories of celebrating (alone) as a reward for all of his hard work (alone) while calling up his (pathetically short) list of friends to make plans began to slowly drift back to him as he massaged his temples.

Ryoutarou sighed dejectedly, remembering the aftermath of those calls. Yesterday was Wednesday, which meant; next to no one would be free for the majority of today.

Andrew would be swamped with customers all day. The Kids would have school, followed by some sort of extracurricular activity the school usually mandated. Everyone from the guild worked the morning shift with him, but didn't have the fortitude to go through with the double weekend strategy along with him.

He could go out on the town, but it was still way too early for that and he hadn't even eaten breakfast yet. Ryoutarou figured he'd come up with something after that.

Which is how he found himself in Alfheim, deciding today was as good as any to get some 'solo' play in. Not that he could really see the charm in playing these kinds of games alone, being a social creature by nature.

While flying aimlessly through salamander territory, stewing in dark thoughts, Yui, in navigation pixie form, chose this moment to appear, startling the poor Salamander-Samurai enough to disrupt his focus and send him plummeting into a sand dune.

"Yui!" Klein exclaimed, smiling at seeing a friend, be it flesh or digital. He looked around, expecting to see a Spriggan or Undine come hurtling by at any moment, in pursuit of their wayward 'daughter'.

Only the occasional Salamander party leisurely flew by.

"So~" Klein stressed, looking for a way to word his question.

"Your hair isn't as comfy as papa's, Klein-san" the pixie remarked.

"Anyway, what are you doing all the way out here, without Kaz or Asuna?" he asked the girl. "You know that it isn't safe for young girls to be out so far without their parents" he waved a finger before the pixie in mock seriousness.

"Yui is a big girl!" the pixie giggled, before adopting a more serious expression. "Also, papa told Yui that he was frustrated that he wouldn't get to play with Klein, even though you got a mini-vacation from your job, so he thought he would be wasting all the work you put in" she replied.

At this, Klein was speechless. The last thing he wanted to do was upset anyone with what he thought was a well-intentioned plan.

"Oh, Yui-" Klein began, but the pixie continued.

"And, when you logged in earlier, Yui could feel a lot of the emotions inside, even though you were usually so happy, and made other people happy, too" she observed. "And right now, you feel a little sad too" she observed. "So please, don't be sad, Klein" the small pixie breathed, seeming to droop more and more with every word.

"Hey now" Klein muttered, using a finger to gently pat the pixie on the head. "We can't have both of us being sad now" he grinned. "And there's no way I can have you going around with anything other than a big old smile!" he declared

"Will you feel better?" Yui timidly asked, wiping away a small digital tear.

"Only when you do" Klein smiled. "What kind of guy would I be, to make my best friend's daughter cry, after all?" he asked.

"A really bad one?" Yui replied, playing along.

"Exactly" Klein nodded. "Since your dad's like a little brother to me at times, that'd make you almost, kinda, sorta my pseudo niece" the Samurai mused.

"Then that makes you my almost, kind of, sort of, in a way Uncle!" the pixie exclaimed, giggling.

Klein felt a pang in his chest, whether it was in the digital world or otherwise, it felt very real to him. The way she said that, had a nice ring to it. Klein couldn't help but smile.

"From now on, since it makes you feel happy, I'm gonna call you Uncle Klein!" Yui announced.

Klein felt another pang, this time. But this time it felt

"Hey, I'm only twenty-five, that isn't old at all!" Klein roared, raising a fist and dispersing his own downward spiraling thoughts.

"That's right" Yui cheered nestled within Klein's locks and mirroring his actions.

"This calls for a celebration!" Klein decided. "And what better way is there to celebrate than with a bit of adventure and treasure!" he declared.

"Quest time!" Yui agreed, already applying for the nearest available quest.

Oasis Rush daily quest accepted, his indicator dinged.

"Wait, what?" Klein asked.

And so, while wandering the desert, Yui took a nap using Klein's bandanna to securely (and surprisingly comfortably) secure herself while the Samurai blindly searched for an oasis, eventually falling through a poorly concealed pit trap, leading to the current situation.

* * *

One of the turtle creatures leaped into the air, retreating into it's large shell and spinning towards the Katana user , the jagged edges of it's shell and a warning from Yui were more than enough to snap Klein out his reverie.

Ducking to the ground, the shell flew overhead, not crashing into the wall as Klein expected, but instead melding through, then disappearing completely, a belated thump was heard moments later.

"Well, I think we're onto something now" Klein smirked, quickly moving to his feet and drawing his katana in an instant, the blade glowing red as cut upwards, cleaving one creature in two, downwards, bisecting a second and then thrust, impaling the third and engulfing it in flames, which spread to the other two, causing all three to shatter and award Klein his exp.

"Uncle Klein" Yui called worriedly, "there's a fire in this small cramped room now" she observed.

"Gah!" Klein realized, his fire affinity giving him reason to pay no mind, but worry for Yui prompted him to immediately jump at the wall the fourth monster had disappeared into.

His torso made it through, but his lower body made contact with solid material, dealing a meager five points of damage as the rest of his body twisted and toppled into the concealed area.

Almost immediately, Klein felt a sharp increase in temperature, although it only led to his character feeling even more at ease, being of the Salamander race. Any other class would likely find this place sweltering though, let alone a pixie.

"Yui" Klein called "you okay, up there?" he asked.

"It's…. really hot" the pixie replied after some time. "I feel like…. I'm melting" she gasped, as if exhausted.

"Hold on, hold on!" Klein called, frantically opening his inventory. "I don't have much by way of magic" he muttered "but I do remember – there!" he nodded, materializing an amber colored potion, matching his eyes, the pixie thought belatedly.

Potion of Fire Resistance +35% it indicated.

The pixie merely had to tap the bottle, instantly receiving it's benefits with no need to consume the potion itself. A useful feature, Klein noted, returning the potion to his inventory.

"Feeling any better?" Klein asked.

"I'm actually kind of cold now" Yui cheerfully replied.

"So that's how it works" Klein smiled, relieved.

Upon turning around to take in the new area, the quest indicator dinged

Oasis Rush2 Defeat Desert Tortoise and Clutch the screen listed.

"This'll be fun" Klein sighed, heading further into the area, the heat increasing the further he tread into this cave.

"Huh, now I'm starting to feel really warm again" Yui noted, nestling into Klein's hair. "If only your hair was more comfortable" she pouted "then I could take a nap" she yawned.

"You really are your father's- whoa!" Klein exclaimed, turning a corner and beholding a lake that glowed a warm pink as puffs of steam rose to the stone ceiling, obscuring the area in a hazy mist.

Hearing a familiar growl, Klein quickly stepped, avoiding a blade swipe as three tortoise creatures stepped out of the mist.

Intense foreboding entered Klein's mind.

All three couldn't possibly be the desert tortoise, since the quest only specified one. But, if these big guys were the clutch, then….

Instinctively, the Samurai dove to the side after spotting movement from high above, behind the three apparent small-fry. Not a second later, a large jet of water hit the ground where he had been moments before. The pressure of the attack seemed to be so strong that Klein wondered if the ground would erode, even if they were in a game.

Sidestepping the attacks of the minions, the three were quickly dealt with, albeit one did manage to score a hit before it was felled, in favor of the massive damage that'd likely be sustained from the high level water attacks suppressing him.

"Good luck!" Yui cheered as Klein steeped further into the mist so as to get a view of the beast striking from above. The mist dispersed as if in response to Klein's will when he reached the edge of the underground lake.

Klein sighed in resignation.

Of course it'd be a giant frikkin turtle!" he roared as the Health Bars of the creature came into view.

Island Turtle – Desert King With a gargantuan roar from the behemoth and a war cry from the Crimson Samurai, their battle began.

* * *

"You're telling me these Island Turtle things are rare monsters that only spawn a few times a month when certain criteria are met?" Klein asked the pixie atop his head. A ladder had appeared back at the entrance, allowing for his exit as well as automatically being marked on his map as oasis in the event of a future visit.

"Yes" Yui confirmed, beaming at the results of the last encounter. "You even got the extremely rare drop that the island turtles will leave behind only every so often" she informed. "Not only do they sell for an enormous amount of Yurudo, they could conversely be used to activate certain quests, as key criteria or be used to craft powerful equipment or weapons" the pixie concluded.

"Really?" Klein asked in a dubious manner, eying the drop in his inventory.

Island Core – Desert it read. Depicting a relatively large swirling sphere surrounded in a bronze aura that dissipates upwards. While cool in appearance, Klein couldn't really think of many uses for it.

"So, what kind of quests need it?" he asked.

"Unconfirmed" Yui replied.

"…. What kind of weapons or equipment can it make?" he tried, the bad feeling returning.

"Unconfirmed" Yui replied once again, seeming to look apologetic once more.

"I guess I could sell it, if I run low on funds" Klein sighed.

"Sorry, Uncle Klein" Yui sighed as well.

"Don't worry about it!" Klein exclaimed. "The main thing is that we had quite the adventure" he laughed.

"That's right!" Yui agreed.

"Hmm, that was fun and all, but now it's time to wind down" the Samurai stretched. "How do you feel about ice cream, since the quest reward had a nice payout?" Klein offered.

"Yeah!"

* * *

A.N. - And that's that. As things are, I feel that I may turn this into a collection/occasional plotline sort of thing, depending on how I feel at the moment. Also, don't hesitate to review, comment, flame (if you're into that) or whatever. That means you're reading all the way through.


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